Chamber Calls For Support For Fort Drum

The Greater Watertown-North County Chamber of Commerce is calling on its members and the local community to show their support for Fort Drum.

The chamber is working with Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization, which is working to keep the local post and 10th Mountain Division whole.

In a message to its members, the chamber said, "We have recently become concerned for our community and the businesses that reside within it over the Department of the Army's news of a downsizing proposal. This proposal could be both detrimental to the economic prosperity of our community and more specifically, to your business."

The Army is thinking about reducing the number of active duty soldiers from 562,000 to 490,000 by 2020.

Fort Drum could lose as many as 8,000 troops by 2020 under the worst-case scenario.

The chamber is asking its members to either submit a letter of support to FDRLO on businesses letterhead and/or sign the online petition to keep Fort Drum's troop capacity as it is now.